Self-Regulation and Expatriate Adjustment: The Role of Regulatory Fit

The Center for International Human Resources presents their first guest speaker for 2021!

Dr. Rajesh Kumar will draw on the construct of regulatory fit to explain how expatriates manage interactional and work-related discrepancies in diverse cultural contexts. When expatriates go overseas, they are often faced with a set of expectations that are at variance with their home country norms and these differences in expectations generate discrepancies. The emergence of discrepancies in an alien cultural context exacerbates the uncertainties facing the expatriate, though the response to uncertainty varies between expatriates. 

Utilizing insights from motivational science and by linking the self-regulatory processes to the cultural context, we develop a framework and propositions for expatriate adaptation in loose and tight cultures. They present managerial implications of our model and offer guidance for testing the framework.

About the Presenter:

Dr. Rajesh Kumar is an expert in international business, specializing in cross-cultural negotiations, alliance management, and in the study of emerging markets. He has a doctorate in International Business from New York University, an MBA from Rutgers University, and a master’s degree in Economics from the University of Delhi. His research has been published in journals such as Organization Science, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of World Business, California Management Review, Human Resource Management Review, and Organizational Psychology Review. Dr. Kumar is currently an independent researcher and working on his memoir describing his cross-cultural journey.

The Zoom link to attend will be shared with School of LER faculty, staff, and graduate students on the day of the event. If you are an undergraduate who would like to attend or if you would like to invite someone else, please contact Dr. Olivas-Luján (miguel.olivas@psu.edu) or Abby Cluster (amk5977@psu.edu).